The video arraignment for Samantha Grigg who was charged Monday in the murder of Dustyn Frolka in Clinton County District Court. / Greg DeRuiter/Lansing State Journal

The video arraignment for Brendan Heim who was charged Monday in the murder of Dustyn Frolka in Clinton County District Court. / Greg DeRuiter/Lansing State Journal

The video arraignment for Tyrel Bredernitz who was charged Monday in the murder of Dustyn Frolka in Clinton County District Court. / Greg DeRuiter/Lansing State Journal

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ST. JOHNS — Three Saline teens charged with murder in the death of Michigan State University sophomore Dustyn Frolka are accused of robbing him and throwing him out of a moving vehicle.

Clinton County Prosecutor Chuck Sherman said in an interview Monday he believes the teens were after Frolka’s money. They are accused of using brass knuckles.

“Our theory is the crime happened in the vehicle while it was moving,” Sherman said.

The teens all are charged with felony murder, armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery in Frolka’s death. He was found the night of Feb. 15, partially clothed on Interstate 69 near the East Lansing exit in Bath Township. The 19-year-old from Owosso was pronounced dead at Sparrow Hospital and identified through fingerprints.

Samantha Grigg and Tyrel Bredernitz, both 18, and Brendan Heim, 16, were arraigned Monday on the charges in Clinton County District Court. All three said they are unemployed and requested court-appointed attorneys. They are being held without bond at the county jail. The arraignments, before Magistrate Jane Clarke, were conducted by video.

All three have connections to Saline High School. Grigg said she is a senior. Bredernitz said he is a Saline graduate. Heim said he is “currently enrolled but I haven’t gone for awhile.” He said he had completed the 10th grade.

Police have previously said Frolka had abrasions consistent with hitting the pavement but no obvious wounds. As of last week, the cause of death remained unclear.

Bath Township police said in a statement they were able to identify people Frolka was with during his final hours.

Early Saturday, investigators executed a search warrant at an apartment complex in Saline, where officials said they found illegal drugs. One suspect was arrested at the apartment. Others were questioned and released.

At the same time, the statement said, a vehicle was searched in Saline and two more people were taken into custody.

Frolka was a talented rap artist who at one time was signed to a Lansing label, but “had been on kind of a downward spiral” since the fall, according to people who knew him. Frolka, a marketing major, was arrested by MSU police for cocaine possession on Jan. 31, according to court records. When he was arraigned Feb. 1 on the drug charge, he was kicked out of his MSU dorm.

Hincka described him as an extremely generous person, who was devoted to his 10-month-old daughter. During his teenage years, Frolka spent time in both Owosso and Flint, but ultimately graduated from Owosso High School.

“He had goals of making it in the music industry — whether it was the business side of things or the talent side,” Hincka said. “He was working and going to school and trying to make a better life for himself and for (his daughter).”